Which Festool Rotex - 5" or 6"?

[Larry Fox]

In an ongoing effort to reduce / control dust in my shop I am highly likely to take the Festool plunge in the very near future and want to start with sanders. The Rotex seems to be the workhorse of their line and a recommended one to start with but will likely add more (I have read the Jerry Work piece on the sanders). My question is, between the 5” and the 6” – which one. In terms of the type of work that I do, I do some case / cabinet work, some furniture work, starting to get into some box-making. I like the additional sanding surface of the 6” but I held one in my hands at the local Woodcraft and it feels kinda bulky and am wondering if others have found it so and if maybe the 5” might be a better choice. I will likely also use it for rubbing out / polishing of finishes so that leads me back to consider the 6”.

Anyone have any thoughts on the relative merits of the two models?

Thanks in advance for your time.

Larry

[Glen Blanchard]

The 6" covers a 40% larger surface area if memory serves. That being said, I have the 5" - but most of my work is on a smaller scale (boxes, etc).

BTW - it's a great sander!!

[Jim Becker]

Both of my Festool sanders are 6" and I have no regrets about that. And for the Rotex, the extra weight and "oomph" could be an advantage should you put it to use for heavy work. (I did just that when I was reconditioning a used back blade for my tractor last year)

[William Addison]

You might check on the availabilty of six inch disks in your local stores. I have an eight inch ROS and having the right disk at the right time has always been a pain.

[Bob Childress]

Because of the much greater surface area, I chose to go the 6 inch Rotex route (lots of cabinet and furniture work). Keep in mind your future purchases, as well, as you may want to standardize on one size or the other to be able to use the same discs.

Unless you are doing a lot of vertical or overhead sanding, the RO150 is very comfortable to use. :)

[Bob Childress]

You might check on the availabilty of six inch disks in your local stores. I have an eight inch ROS and having the right disk at the right time has always been a pain.

Even if he chooses the RO 125, the local BORG will not have the right hole pattern and the discs are crud anyway. But any Festo dealer will have both, and Klingspor sell Festo configured paper as well. :)

[Dan Clark]

I have the RO150. It's a great sander. In Rotex mode, it's a beast. You'll need two hands to control it but it will shred wood like a belt sander with better control. OTOH, switch to RO mode and you can control it with one hand on speed 6. :D

FYI, Mirka sells a 6" Festool backing pad for their Abranet abrasives. Abranet is really nice stuff, provides the same dust free sanding as Festool abrasives, and comes in 80 through 600 grit.

Dan.

[Bill Jepson]

If you do a lot of panel work get a 6" (150) if most of your work is smaller get a 125. Both are excelent machines.
Bill J

[Roy Wall]

I have the RO150. It's a great sander. In Rotex mode, it's a beast. You'll need two hands to control it but it will shred wood like a belt sander with better control. OTOH, switch to RO mode and you can control it with one hand on speed 6. :D

Dan.

I will agree with that! Some 80 (or 60) grit and aggressive mode will "shred" away the wood - you must be careful - and it does wear on me a bit.


Fine mode gives it a 5mm orbit, which is the same as the 150/5. This is much easier sanding. Just let the weight of the machine rest and slowly guide the tracking - you'll get a good finish.

Okay - I haven't answered your question..........

I went with 6" because I knew some large, long shelving units were in my future for a few years. Like you, my logic is the 5" model is well suited to handle small furniture, etc....but I think the 6" helps you to " do it all" easier and makes quicker work of table tops and the like.

Once its sanding on the wood, you are lightly guiding it anyway....so the bigger sander should be just as easy to handle as the 5".

[Gary Keedwell]

I labored over the same dilemma for months and finally pulled the trigger on the 6" 150/3. I adapted almost immediately.:)

Gary

[Chris Padilla]

The 6" covers a 40% larger surface area if memory serves. That being said, I have the 5" - but most of my work is on a smaller scale (boxes, etc).

BTW - it's a great sander!!

44% bigger. :D

6" all the way and you won't look back. Get a nice large supply of discs when you order the Rotex and you'll be set.

[Don Bullock]

I went with the 5" Rotex. Yes, it's less surface area, but it seemed to fit my hand better and I don't have any plans right now for projects with large surface areas. It's a great sander for my needs. I can safely say that you'll be pleased with either one.

[Dave Falkenstein]

I prefer the 6" sanders because the sanding goes faster. For smaller detail work look at the DTS400 in the future. Some dealers will sell broken packs of sandpaper, so you don't need to buy packages of 50 or 100.

[John Michael]

The long stroke Rotex really shines in stock removal, leveling, and polishing (wood or metal) and surface finishing (metal). Considering these uses I feel the 6" is a much better choice for its larger coverage area. However I do not use the Rotex for finishing. I sand up to 120 with it, but all the higher grits are done with a ES/ETS 125 or 150 or an RS400. I am not saying that you can't do it, but the heavier sanding marks, vibration through the drive, and the noise of the gears are not my idea of finish sanding. However for its intended purpose the Rotex sanders are bullet proof, and as good as it gets. When using it on RO I just palm the the rubberized head and do all my sanding one handed, if you really need to grind on something (Rotary) I prefer my control hand on the head and the other retaining the motor body. I can't say I've ever used the side grip, but that's just personal preference.